Olympics: Coach defends skater Valieva, CAS to hold Sunday hearing on case

BEIJING: The Russian coach of the 15-year-old figure skater embroiled in an Olympic doping scandal broke her silence to defend Kamila Valieva on Saturday (Feb 12), while the sport's highest court said it would hold a hearing on Valieva's Winter Games future on Sunday.

Coach Eteri Tutberidze said she was certain Valieva was "clean and innocent" in an interview with Russian state television after hugging her figure-skating prodigy, who trained again at the rink next to the Capital Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Valieva's future at the Winter Games will be decided by Monday afternoon Beijing time, after a hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Sunday, CAS said in a statement on Saturday.

The figure skater's Olympics hangs in the balance after the stunning revelation that she had tested positive for a banned heart drug before winning the team event on Monday, but it took more than six weeks before that positive result was reported.

Valieva is due to compete again on Tuesday in the women's individual event.

Valieva is one of the youngest athletes ever to have a positive test revealed at the Olympics, in a case that has prompted outrage from fans, athletes and anti-doping advocates around the world.

Earlier, Olympic officials said they would welcome an anti-doping investigation into the Russian doctors, coaches and family members in Valieva's entourage.

Many have questioned the role of the adults around the teenage skater and the continuing scourge of Russian doping in international sports.

Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound told Reuters that Russia may need an Olympic "timeout" after the latest doping scandal.

The Kremlin - separately preoccupied with Western diplomatic wrath over a